Mass Effect: Back in the Game
by WS6-TA
Summary: After Cerberus contacts Logan, he and Brady must break their promise to the late Shepard. Short story that takes place between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- This is a sequel to Mass Effect: Strange Heroes, make sure you read that before reading this!**

_1 year after Shepard's death, in a lab on a space station_

"It can't be done, it's not a matter of resources," a man in a lab coat complained to a hologram.

"It's always a matter of resources, we're not losing Shepard," the holograph of a man called The Illusive Man replied.

"Sir, Shepard is clinically brain dead, after that much trauma, THAT long without oxygen. We cannot overcome nature," the doctor reasoned.

The Illuse Man wasn't having it though "Operative Lawson disagrees, she is now in charge of project Lazarus," he commanded.

The doctor held a straight face but inside he was seething. He had graduated top of his class, hell the entire planet of Earth. He was considered one of the best even by the salarians, which got him noticed by Cerberus in the first place, and his boss was sacking him from leading the project.

"Sir, if I may, Miss Lawson doesn't have-" he started.

"When Operative Lawson returns she will be in charge. If you have an issue with my decision, we can meet personally," The Illusive Man stated.

The doctor gulped, knowing what that actually meant "No, sir, but that still doesn't change the fact that we don't have the necessary funding. We've already gone over our budget but it's not enough," he said.

"Don't worry about that, I'm already taking care of the situation," The Illusive Man declared before killing the link.

_Arizona, Earth_

A shuttle landed outside a small town of prefabs in the middle of the desert, in the distance of every direction tall buildings littered the horizon. Two humans stepped out of the craft into the bright sunlight and glanced around the town. One, a black male, noted that their arrival had gone ignored. He wasn't surprised as air traffic wasn't uncommon to small towns, supply drops and the like. The other human, a woman, couldn't care less what the people here thought of their arrival, she was here on a mission and she planned on finishing it so she could get out of this place and back to work.

As the pair strode down the street the woman ignored the stares she was getting from the males, it wasn't uncommon due to her build.

"There it is," the man stated, pointing to a prefab at the end of the street. The two strode up to the door and knocked. Ten seconds went by without a reply so the man knocked even harder.

"Fuck off," a voice on the inside came.

"Mr. Lerman?" the man asked.

"I said fuck off!" the voice shouted.

The woman was getting impatient "Mr. Lerman, we are here on the request of my employer. He needs your help and pays well," she stated.

The door hissed open to reveal a man wearing nothing but his underwear. The man was tall with shaggy hair and facial hair that needed trimmed.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The man held out a hand "I'm Jacob Taylor and this is Miranda Lawson," he said, then dropped his hand when he realized Lerman wasn't going to shake it.

"Who do you work for?" the man asked.

"We will tell you but it would be better if we discussed this in private, Mr. Lerman," Jacob answered.

"Call me Logan," he stated, beckoned them in "Phaedra!"

Suddenly from the back room a asari wearing nothing but a towel appeared "Yes?"

"I'm gonna need you to step out for a while," he said "I have to talk to these two in private,"

The asari eyed the two up and down, lingering on Miranda with a scowl for a second, then nodded and went into the back, with Logan following, to get dressed.

After she left the three humans stayed standing as the only furniture Logan owned was a his and his daughter's bed.

"Your girlfriend?" Jacob started, trying to be friendly.

Logan stared at him for a second "No, she's just visiting from the Citadel," he stated "Keeps me warm at night,"

Miranda scoffed at that "We're here on the behalf of Cerberus," she said.

Logan suddenly drew his pistol on them "Get the hell out now!" he shouted.

"Easy, Logan," Jacob said "We're not here to kill you or take you in. Our boss has a proposal for you,"

"Tell your boss to go fuck himself, I'm not interested," Logan declared, still holding them at gunpoint.

"I understand your mistrust, but hear us out," Jacob continued.

"I won't work for Cerberus," Logan stated "Get out,"

Miranda spoke up "We're in the middle of a project, one that will change history," she explained "Unfortunately we've gone past our budget and our financial support can't give any more,"

"Look around, does it look like I'm loaded?" Logan stated "Even I had the money, I'd give it to batarians before you people,"

"You may not be able to support us financially," Jacob interjected "But we know you have the skills to...acquire large amounts of money, and that's why we're here,"

Logan finally lowered his weapon "You want me to get back into the game?" he asked "Sorry, but I promised someone special to me that I was done for good,"

"Shepard?" Miranda guessed with a smirk.

"Fuck you," Logan declared.

"Our boss doesn't care how, but he wants you to acquire a large amount of credits for him. After that you won't hear from us again," Jacob explained.

"What's this 'project' that you are working on?" Logan asked.

"It's classified, but it will involve you more than you think," Miranda said.

"You said this job will pay well," Logan declared "Sounds like you guys are bankrupt, how am I getting paid?"

"Depending on how much you are able to attain, you will get a cut," Miranda explained.

"Not interested," Logan suddenly said "I trust you can see your way out,"

"We didn't want it to come to this, but we prepared," Miranda said "You will help us or your friends will be meeting some of our less friendly colleagues,"

"Don't you fucking dare," Logan warned.

"We won't if you agree to help," Miranda stated with a wicked smile "Return to your old apartment at the Citadel, where in three days two of our people will meet with you,"

"No, if I'm doing this then I choose whose on my team," Logan demanded.

"You will be in charge, but for insurance purposes two of ours will be accompanying you," Miranda stated.

"How much money does your boss need?" Logan asked.

"At least two billion but any more than that would be appreciated," she replied.

Logan sighed "Fine, I'll do it, but I better never see you again,"

Miranda smirked "Can't make any promises," she stated "Remember three days from now, on the Citadel. Let's go Jacob,"

Logan waited until they were long gone before activating his omni-tool and sending a message to Brady, Stephen, and Jester.

_3 days later on the Citadel_

Logan, Phaedra, and Dana stepped off the transport into the artificial light. Dana was ecstatic at being back on the Citadel, she had hated the climate changes of Earth. Logan had hoped to not have to come back here so soon, too many memories for his liking. After all three got through security, which was more extreme since the last time he was there, Logan called a cab from the transport terminal.

"I better get back to the boys, I don't think my story will hold up for very long," Phaedra stated "Decius isn't as dumb as he looks,"

"I have a hard time believing that," Logan declared. Phaedra just giggled and strode away.

The cab dropped them off at their old apartment building, some of the surrounding structures still going under repairs from the geth attack. Just as they reached the door it opened to reveal to human men.

"Welcome back, bro," Brady said to his long time friend, while giving him a hug.

"Thanks, it's been too long," Logan replied with a smile then turned to the other human "How's it going, Stephen?"

His other long time friend chuckled as they hugged "A lot better now that you're back," he declared.

"So what have I missed since I've been gone?" Logan asked as the four of them made their way inside.

"Not much," Brady replied "It's been boring as hell here on the Citadel,"

"Business is finally slowing down," Stephen added "Ever since the attack I have been so far behind on vehicle repairs. Not that I'm complaining, I'm making bank"

"You would complain if you were working the front desk," Brady declared "Not a day goes by that I don't get cussed out by an angry customer,"

Logan laughed "Wait, you work at the garage now too?" he asked.

His friend nodded "With the Normandy gone, I really didn't know what to do for money. Stephen needed to help his mechanics in the garage but also needed someone for the desk, so he hired me,"

"Speaking of which," Stephen interjected "What have you been up to this whole time,"

"Garrus has been sending me files on wanted criminals," Logan replied "For a fee I help him track them down,"

The group entered Logan's apartment, with Dana running off to her room. The three men settled down in the living room, enjoying the beer Brady had brought as a welcome back gift.

"So, why the sudden decision to return?" Brady asked.

"I missed my bros," Logan replied with a smile.

Stephen shook his head with a smile "Flattering, but come one. We haven't heard from you in nearly five months then suddenly you say you're coming back,"

Logan put his drink down then ran both his hands over his face with a sight "Because I got a job," he finally said.

"Where?" Brady asked "If you needed money you know we would've helped you?"

"Yeah, man," Stephen added sounding slightly indignant "I'm sure there's something around the garage I could have you do,"

"No, guys," Logan declared "I mean a _**job **_and of course I'm not going to do it without you two,"

Both his friend's eyes widened "Oh," Brady said, stunned.

Stephen sighed "I don't know man, Sabrina and I are engaged and-"

"What!" Logan shouted "That's great man, congratulations,"

"Thanks, but I don't know if I should be doing... _**that**_ anymore," Stephen said.

Brady looked apologetic as well "Remember we promised... we promised we were done with that life," he stated.

"I didn't forget, but... come on, one last score," Logan pleaded.

"Why?" Stephen asked.

"I got visited by some people from a dangerous organization and they... encouraged me to do this," Logan explained.

Brady narrowed his eyes "Cerberus," he declared.

"Yeah," Logan confirmed "They were going to send their operatives after you guys and our other friends if I didn't accept,"

"Shit," Brady stated "Did they say why they wanted you to do a job?"

"They're working on a project and they ran out of money," Logan said "I don't know what the project is about either,"

The three fell silent for a moment before Stephen spoke up "I'm in," he declared.

"What? Really?" Logan asked getting hopeful.

His friend nodded "Yeah," Stephen answered "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you?"

Logan and Stephen then looked to Brady who sighed "What's our cut?" he asked.

"As always, depends on how much we are able to get," Logan replied.

Once again he sighed "Whatever, count me in," he finally stated.

"I really appreciate this, guys," Logan declared "Now, if I can get an answer from Jester then the team will be settled, mostly,"

Stephen checked his omni-tool's time "Well I better take off, Sabrina wants to go out tonight," he stated before standing.

"Mind dropping me off at my apartment?" Brady asked "I have something I need to do,"

Stephen nodded and the two said their goodbyes to Logan and soon he was left in the silence of his apartment.

_4 hours later_

Logan stood in his kitchen half listening to the vid terminal in the other room. It was getting late, by Earth standards, and he was still expecting the Cerberus visit. Dana was sound asleep in her room, which he was thankful for. Logan was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at his door and using his omni-tool he unlocked the door. He strode to the center of his living room, waiting for the two to enter. He didn't wait long and soon two human males rounded the corner. One was a tall and muscular with a completely shaved head and the other was

"Jester?" Logan asked in shock.

"Operative Hudnall to you," he replied.

"You joined Cerberus?" Logan declared angrily.

"Yeah, I did," the man replied just as angry "Six months, six long months I waited for a call from you. You said you would bring me along on more jobs but you never did,"

"Jest- Brandon, I'm sorry," Logan stated "I got hung up, I-"

"Ran off to join the military," Brandon interrupted "Leaving me hanging. I needed credits and Cerberus was able to offer me more than what we made on that omni-tool job,"

"You saw how important it was to stop Saren," Logan retorted.

"Yeah I did, but I didn't think you would ever run off like that," he snarled "Jack either, or should I say Brady?"

The other mad, who was smiling at the situation, finally spoke up "Alright, kiddies, enough," he stated "As you already know I'm here to be on your team,"

"Yeah," Logan replied "I've already got the rest of the team ready-"

"Erm, excuse me?" the operative interjected "I have a team already ready to go,"

"Yeah, well you see, I don't give a shit," Logan declared "I'm in charge of this job, I choose the team,"

"You may be in charge, but I'm not going to trust my life to your people," he sneered.

"My people?" Logan stated "My people aren't sick pieces of shit

that deserve nothing less than a brutal murder,"

The two stared each other down for a moment before the man nodded "Fine, but my boss will hear about this," he said.

"Fine by me, I was told by a Ms. Lawson that I was in charge," Logan countered.

"That bitch, huh," the man huffed "Shoulda known. Dumb slut has to stick her nose in every Cerberus operation possible,"

"Of course," Brandon said "Bosses pet, she most likely slept her way up the ranks,"

"Shut up, Hudnall," the other operative demanded. Brandon swallowed hard but didn't say anymore.

"Kiddies," Logan mocked "I think we're done here. I'll let you know when and where we're all meeting at to sit this up,"

"Fine, but if you try to set us up," the man pointedly looked to a picture of Logan and his daughter "I'll become her new daddy,"

Brandon was visibly taken aback "Come on, Lloyd, no need for that," he stated.

"Shut up," Lloyd snarled "They paired you with me so I can get you to grow a pair of balls. I'm starting to think that's impossible,"

"Just because he has a heart doesn't mean he has no balls," Logan declared.

Lloyd snarled at him but turned and headed towards the door. Brandon started to follow, but Logan grabbed his arm.

"Jester, I really am sorry but you can't trust Cerberus," Logan pleaded.

"They're more reliable than you, even if I have to put up with Operative Fallows," he replied then headed for the door and soon Logan was left in silence again.

_Logan's apartment, 1 week later_

Several data pads were spread out on a table in front of Logan. Stephen and himself had compiled a list of possible high income targets to hit. Early on he made a rule that their target must not be a clean business. He wanted to hit a business that dealt with dirty money. He was also worried about civilian casualties but knew that might be inevitable. His thoughts were interrupted by his door opening but he wasn't alarmed as he had received a message from Brady earlier that he had a surprise. He didn't have to wait long until his friend appeared around the corner.

"Logan, have I got something for you," he stated grinning from ear to ear "I present to you our sixth member of the team,"

Brady stepped over to allow room and the person that came around the corner had Logan's jaw drop to the floor.

"Tali?"


	2. Chapter 2

"No," Logan said definitively.

"What?" Brady declared with surprise.

"I'm not having her on the team," Logan stated then turned towards the quarian in question "No offense Tali, it's great to see you, but I'm not letting you get tangled up in this,"

Tali narrowed her eyes "I said if you needed my help, call me, and I meant it," she argued.

"I know, but-" Logan started.

"Brady told me what happened, and while I don't like the idea of... robbing a bank or something, I'm here for you," Tali countered.

Logan sighed "You do realize you will be filling out quarian stereotypes, right?" he asked.

She nodded "I know, but I'm doing this for my friends. To hell with what other people will think," she proudly declared.

"I don't like this," Logan said "but if you really want to, I guess I can find you something to do,"

Under her helmet, Tali was beaming "Thanks, Logan," she declared

"If you want out at any time, just say so, we won't hold it against you," Logan explained to which the quarian nodded "Alright, let's get everyone together,"

_Basement of Zathdex, Kithoi Ward 1 hour later_

Logan, Brady, Stephen, and Tali stood in a small room, waiting for the Cerberus operatives. Above them they could hear the muffled sound of machines running. Zathdex is a large factory that manufactured bolts that held commercial vehicles together, it was also owned by Sagath as a cover. Tali fidgeted nervously at the thought of working with Cerberus. From his place to her left, Brady reached over and placed his hand on both of Tali's and gave her a reassuring smile. Tali nodded at him and dropped her hands to the side.

Finally the silence was cut by the door opening to reveal the two Cerberus personnel, who strode in and stood across from the four.

Operative Fallows immediately pointed at Tali "What's with the quarian?" he asked aggressively.

Logan gritted his teeth "Her name is T-"

"I don't care what the suit rat's name is, what the hell is it doing here?" he interrupted.

Brady and Logan bristled at the insult thrown at their friend but the latter calmly answered "She's part of the team, so you better learn her name,"

"No, that thing is not going to be part of this team," Fallows declined "This is why The- my boss put me in charge,"

"Well, guess what asshole?" Brady exploded "Logan's in charge, her name is Tali, and she's part of the team, you don't like that? There's the door!"

Lloyd was seething and he had to fight himself to keep from speaking out again.

"Now that that's settled, let's get down to business," Logan said to break the tension "I found a suitable target to hit," behind him on the wall a large screen came to life to reveal the layout of a street in the Bachjret Ward "This is the Bachjret Central Bank, BCB," he explained.

"I know that place," Jester spoke up for the first time "Don't the Eclipse own it?

"Yes, they do," Logan replied with a smile "Which is exactly why we are hitting it. If an alarm gets tripped C-Sec won't respond, we'll be dealing with Eclipse mercenaries. I'm still working out some finer details for the plan but first, we're going to need weapons, armor, and a vehicle,"

"What happened to your weapons and armor from your mission with Shepard?" Lloyd asked, annoyed that it appeared this mission would take longer than expected.

"After she died, the Alliance took them back," Brady answered.

"Sagath set up a meeting for me to meet the CEO of BCB, I'm going under the cover that I want Zathdex to bank with them. That will allow me to scout the inside, see what we're dealing with. Tali, you're coming with me to this meeting, acting as my secretary," the quarian nodded "Act like you're taking notes but I want pictures, as much as you can get,"

"I won't let you down," she responded to which Fallows snorted.

Logan ignored the operative "Now like I said we're going to need credits for weapons and such so Sagath put me in touch with one of his informants. Tomorrow there's going to be a red sand deal going down over on the Zakera Ward between The Void and The Last of an Ancient Breed, two low time gangs, like lower than the Twisted low,"

"How much we looking at?" Brady asked.

"According to the agent, they should be holding roughly seven thousand credits worth of sand," Logan replied "Along with the the seven thousand credit chit. So make sure you grab at least one of those, preferably both,"

Lloyd scoffed "How are we supposed to hit it without weapons?" he asked.

"Stephen has a few assault rifles, nothing special but they'll work for now," Logan replied "I've looked into these two gangs, and like I said neither of them are anything special. No armor, no shields, and hardly an assault rifle between them,"

"What am I doing, then?" Stephen asked.

"We're going to need a vehicle for this job," Logan explained "It needs to be durable, the Eclipse are no joke, once they find out their money is being taken, they'll send everything at us. Also I think it's time that we take care of the Tayseri Twisted for good. On the vehicle I want the Twisted sign painted, make the Eclipse think they're being burned by them,"

Stephen smile wickedly "With pleasure," he exclaimed.

Logan nodded with a smile "We've all got work to do, so ramblers, let's get rambling," he stated as he shut down the screen.

_Bachjret Central Bank 3 hours later_

Logan landed the skycar a block away "The CEO is a turian named Virius Laevinis. Word has it that he's not too fond of humans but he knows how much credits Zathdex brings in, he won't be able to resist. I'll be going by Teddie Barrus owner of Zathdex. You're Susa'Lonis nar Wogro, working as my secretary until you have enough money to pay your way back to the Migrant Fleet," Logan explained as they exited the car, the human dressed in formal attire.

"Yes, sir," Tali stated falling into character causing Logan to chuckle.

The pair entered the bank, the inside protected by two guards and a weapon scanner. Tali's omni-tool glowed on her arm as they walked up to the the front desk where a lone asari sat. As they approached the asari gave them the classic secretary smile.

"Welcome to Bachjret Central Bank, what can I help you with today?" she asked.

"Hello, I'm Teddie Barrus, I have a meeting with Virius Laevinis," Logan stated.

The asari activated her omni-tool "Sir, Mr. Barrus is here," she said "Yes, sir. He will be out shortly,"

As soon as the asari finished speaking the door behind her opened and out stepped an older turian and a salarian "Ah, Mr. Barrus, it's pleasure to meet you in person," the turian declared and shook the human's hand "This is my son, Jarlol,"

Logan couldn't help himself "Son?" he asked fighting a smile.

The old turian chuckled "I took him in after his parents went missing during the geth attack," he explained.

"You're a good man," Logan stated then gestured to Tali "This is my secretary Susa'Lonis nar Wogro,"

Neither the turian or salarian offered a hand but instead nodded "Follow me to my office, please," the former declared and turned to lead them "I think you'll find the BCB is the best place around for your business,"

Logan nodded "So I've heard, but we move lots of credits, I need to know that my money is secure as it possible can be," he stated

The turian chuckled again "You want secure?" he asked "You've got it. Not only does this facility have state of the arm weapon scanners, it's also protected by the Eclipse. There aren't many out there that are foolish enough to try their luck with them,"

Logan nodded thoughtfully, next to him Tali constantly kept her fingers moving on her omni-tool, pretending that she was taking notes.

"If you'd like we can take a little detour and I can show you our vault security," Virius offered.

"Yes, I would like that," Logan responded. The group took a turn, Logan kept up idle conversation to help Tali keep taking "notes" and soon they were at a door with a large scanner. Virius reached up and placed his hand on the scanner and a few seconds later the door opened. Inside two Eclipse guards stood on either side of a large vault door.

"The Newbark TI-45 Vault, complete with DNA and omni-tool scanner," Virius exclaimed proudly.

Logan gave the turian a sideways glance "Omni-tool scanner?" he asked, genuinely ignorant as to what that was.

"Every omni-tool has a unique code, nobody but the manufacturer can change it," the CEO explained "This vault only recognizes two codes. One is mine, the other is on the other side of the galaxy with my mate,"

"Smart," Logan stated.

Virius nodded "Indeed, now let's go to my office and talk business," he said

_Zathdex the next day_

"I told him I need to think on it," Logan explained to the rest of the group "I set up another appointment four days from now, so we need to be ready by then," he activated the screen and pulled up Tali's omni-tool pictures "The entrance is guarded by two Eclipse mercs and a weapon scanner I've never heard of,"

"Valkyrie 2045," Tali interjected "State of the art, but nothing for a quarian to scramble, we should be able to bring at least pistols"

Logan smile "Glad to hear it. There's a hand print scanner on the door before the vault, so we may have to knock Virius out,"

"Or cut off his hand," Lloyd suggested.

"No," Logan stated "Definitely not. Now the vault has a DNA scanner and an omni-tool scanner. His omni-tool will be easy to acquire but the DNA will give us some trouble,"

"You might need to make him bleed a little," Brady offered "Nothing too bad but one drop of blood should suffice,"

Logan nodded "Good thinking. Stephen how's our escape vehicle coming?" he asked.

"I've got one in the shop right now getting a new paint job," Stephen answered "It's a Sutherland FR 900G. Big enough for all of us and enough power to escape pursuers. They're also known for being pretty much bulletproof,"

"Where'd you get it?" Logan asked.

"Parking garage over in the Zakera ward," he replied "No one saw me take it,"

"Good, while Brady and Lloyd get the credits for the rest of our supplies, I'll finish the plan," Logan stated "Meet back here three days from now at this time,"

_Back alleys in Zakera Ward_

Brady and Lloyd sat in the shadows, watching the two gangs negotiating. Neither the drugs or money were in sight yet, so the two stayed where they were. Five from each crew had showed up to the deal, with three from each crew on lookout. Out of The Void's gang truck a turian, dressed in the blue and black gang colors, strode carrying a large bag. As he approached the salarian of the opposite gang, he opened the bag.

"There's are drugs," Brady declared.

"No shit," Lloyd replied.

The salarian, dressed in the pure red color of The Last of an Ancient Breed, nodded then signaled back at his gang's car where a human stepped out carrying a suitcase.

"There's the money," Lloyd proclaimed.

"No shit," Brady mocked over emphasizing the operative's deep voice, sudden commotion brought his attention back to the exchange.

The turian and salarian were arguing, apparently the turian felt he was getting a raw deal because he pulled out a pistol and shot the salarian point blank. Before the Breed could react, the rest of the Void opened fire as well, taking out a majority of their opposition before they could get to cover.

"Oh fuck, they're burning them," Brady declared with a laugh "We need to get in this, before they make off with both the drugs and money,"

The turian leader smirked as he stooped to pick up the suitcase that held the credit chit, as he straightened sudden gunfire from the alley cut him down. The other Void members turned, stunned, allowing the remaining Breed members to get a few shots off, eliminating two of the Void. More gunfire from the alley took out another Void gangster before the last one dashed back to their truck, the drugs and money forgotten. The two Breed members ditched their cover to try and gun him down, with success, as the gangster fell dead. Once more the alleyway erupted with gunfire and the two Breed gangsters were wasted. Brady and Lloyd strolled out to collect the valuable items. The bag of sand had a little of its contents spilled when the turian was killed, but was salvageable. Lloyd picked up the suitcase and opened it.

"Nothing," he said as he showed Brady the empty container.

Brady nodded his head towards the Breed's car "Check their car," he declared.

Lloyd scowled, not liking being ordered around, but complied. It took several minutes to search the car but when he finished he was empty handed.

"So, the Breed were planning on burning them fist," Brady proclaimed "Heh, the Void were ahead of them on that,"

As they reached their car, the sound of an engine approaching caught their attention. As they spun around a Breed gang car stopped in front of them.

"Shit!" Brady shouted as he hoped in their car. Lloyd jumped into the passenger seat and they took off with the gang on their heels.

"Open the hatch," Lloyd declared "I'll take care of them"

Brady hit the controls and the hatch opened, allowing Lloyd to lean out the side. Brady sped the craft through the buildings, trying to lose the gang as Lloyd peppered the gang's vehicle with bullets with the gang returned fire. A few bullets from Lloyd's rifle impacted one of the gangsters and he toppled out of the car. Even without a gunner, the pilot of the gang car still chased them.

"Persistent bastard" Lloyd complained as he reloaded. The operative pinned the trigger and finally managed to take out the driver. The gang car careened out of control before slamming into a building, exploding on impact.

"Oh, shit!" Brady exclaimed as Lloyd laughed in triumph.

The operative settled back into his seat as the hatch closed "You're not to bad, kid" he said to Brady.

Brady didn't say anything, instead focusing in returning to Zathdex.

Sagath met the two as they landed "You got the stuff?" he asked.

Brady tossed him the bag of drugs "That's all we got, the Breed was planning of ripping them off, there was no money," he explained.

"This will have to do then," the batarian declared "I won't be able to get much with this, though,"

"We need at least two sets of armor for Stephen and myself. Lloyd and Jester have their Cerberus issued armor. Logan and Tali won't have much use for the armor inside the bank," Brady stated "But we need five assault rifles, Tali has her shotgun,"

"I'll do what I can." Sagath replied then headed out without another word.

_3 days later, Zathdex basement_

Sagath stood at the head of the group "Your drug money wasn't enough," he stated "I was able to get assault rifles but there wasn't enough for armor,"

"We'll figure something out," Logan declared "What type of assault rifles?"

Sagath picked up a crate and put in on the table before opening "Five M-3 Sentinels," he said "I know they're old, but they are reliable. They cost twelve hundred credits a piece,"

"So we've only got one thousand left to spend?" Brady ask.

"Two thousand," Sagath declared "I was able to sell the sand for more. A decent set of armor will run you about three thousand each,"

"That's alright, I have an idea anyway," Logan stated "Thanks, Sagath,"

The batarian nodded then left.

"What's the plan?" Brady asked.

"I had Stephen take Tali up to the roof of the bank and scan some stuff up there," Logan explained as he pulled images up on the screen "Here is a vent that goes all the way into Virius's office. Before Tali and I get there, I want you guys to lower my assault rifle and Tali's shotgun down that vent, that way we have something other than pistols when we start,"

"We can do that," Stephen stated.

"Good. Brady," Logan turned to his friend "Tali will have a comm line to you, when I give the signal, Jester and yourself will storm the bank and take out the two guards. Once they're down your job is to hold the front door. Make sure no one gets past you. Hopefully we're already at the vault when I give the signal,"

"What about me?" Lloyd asked impatiently.

"You're going to be in the truck with Stephen giving Jester and Brady support," Logan explained "Once we get the credits all four of us will exit the bank when there's a gap in reinforcements or if we cut down the opposition enough. We'll take a right into this alley and run to the other side where Stephen will pick us up. All goes well, drinks are on me,"

"That's all well and good, but what about our armor?" Brady asked

Logan smiled as he looked at Jester and Lloyd "I hope you don't mind painting your armor. Brady and Stephen, you're with me. We're going to steal a pair of Twisted armor sets,"

"What?" Stephen asked in surprise.

"It won't cost anything and it will further our disguise as the Twisted," Logan explained as they made their exit.

"But how are we going get the armor without anyone noticing?" Brady asked.

"Today is the day they come to collect their protection money, right?" Logan rhetorically asked "We'll take it off them. Then we'll have to move fast with the heist before the Twisted realize their boys are gone,"

"Sounds good to me," Stephen admitted.

"I just hope it's humans that show up," Logan declared.

"It has been for the past few weeks," Stephen confirmed "New blood,"

_Stephen's garage_

The two Twisted members, both human males, strode into the shop laughing loudly and being obnoxious. They strode up to the counter, where Brady was waiting, with smug grins.

"You got the money?" one of them asked.

"I really hope you don't, I want to have some fun," the other stated causing both to laugh.

"Of course we have the money," Brady said while rolling his eyes "Not in front of the customers though. Through here,"

The three walked through a door out into the garage, and as soon as the door shut Logan and Stephen jumped out from behind a car being serviced with their assault rifles trained on the gang members. The two gangsters froze with a look of shock on their faces.

"Take your armor and omni-tools off, now," Logan ordered. The two complied and soon they were down to street clothes.

"Come on, man," one started to beg "We don't like doing this, Decius forces us to,"

"Shut up," Stephen ordered as he opened a door to another small room "Get in there,"

The two reluctantly walked into the empty room, Stephen then shut the door and locked it "Without omni-tools they won't be able to get out," he assured them.

"Good," Logan said "Then get that armor situated,"

As Logan exited the garage into the store he was met by Tali "Hey, what are you doing here?" Logan asked the quarian.

"In my spare time I've been working on something," she declared nervously "It might help when we're inside the bank,"

"I'll take all the help I can get," Logan proclaimed.

"I designed a program on my omni-tool that emits low wattage electrical shocks by touch," she explained as she brought up the program on her tool "It's non lethal but maybe enough to render someone unconscious. I've only been able to test it on mechs but it works, but you can't use it too much or it will fry your omni-tool,"

Logan nodded thoughtfully then removed his omni-tool and handed it to Tali "Put it on my omni-tool, I'm sure I'll find a use for it,"

"It shouldn't take me more than a few hours," she explained.

"Good, give it back to me tomorrow before we hit the target," Logan declared "Right now I need to get some sleep," the quarian nodded and took her leave.

The whole way home Logan ran the plan over and over in his head trying to find any holes he may have missed. After deciding if there was some, they were tiny, he went to his daughter's room to play with her until bed time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Everybody check in," Logan demanded over the radio as he approached the bank entrance.

"BD here," Brady stated, using his initials as it was decided by the group while on the mission.

"SD ready," Stephen replied

"TZ ready," Tali chimed in.

"BH in position," Jester added.

"LF here, let's get the show on the road," came the impatient reply from Lloyd.

"LL copies all," Logan stated "We all know the plan, let's get this done quick,"

Logan and Tali strode into the bank, both holding their breaths as they passed the scanner, but fortunately it failed to pick up on their concealed pistols. Virius met them at the desk with a turian smile on his face.

"Ah, Mr. Barrus," he exclaimed as the two shook hands.

Logan glanced around for the salarian "No Jarlol today?" he asked.

"He's working the security gate today," the turian answered as they began to walk to the his office "Filling in for a sick co-worker,"

The three entered the office where Virius had two drinks ready. Logan accepted a glass but stared at it in concern.

The old turian chuckled at the look on his face "Do not worry, my friend," he stated "I made sure your drink was safe for humans,"

Logan nodded with a smile "My thanks," he replied then took a swig of the beverage, savoring the alcoholic burn.

"I apologize," Virius spoke up "I don't think any of my drinks are safe for quarians,"

"It's fine," Logan replied "It might not be a bad idea for one of us to be sober when we seal the deal,"  
The turian squinted his eyes "Seal the deal?" He asked slowly.

Logan laughed "Human saying," he explained "I should say; we need someone sober when I bring my business to the BCB,"

The announcement stunned the turian for a second but he quickly recovered and let out a booming laugh "You're making the right choice," the turian stated as he held out a hand.

Logan shook and, on contact, the turian was suddenly electrocuted, his body convulsed for a few seconds before going limp and dropping to the ground with a thud.

"Get his omni-tool, TZ," Logan ordered and as the quarian moved to retrieve it, the tool started beeping "Get back!" Logan shouted as he grabbed Tali's arm and hauled her away a few meters. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Logan slowly approached it.

Suddenly their radios cracked to life, making the human jump "What the hell happened in there?" Brady shouted "The alarms are going off!"

"Shit!" Logan cried "He must have a monitor on his omni-tool, we need you guys in here, now!"

_Outside_

"Calvary's coming!" Brady shouted, then looked to Jester "Let's get in there, BH!"

The two charged the door, by then the guards had left their posts and were walking towards the back. Before they could fully turn around, the guards were cut down by Brady and Jester, causing the customers to scream and drop to the ground.

"Stay down!" Jester roared.

"Anyone feel like being a hero?" Brady questioned the prone crowd "Good," he stated after not receiving a replied.

"Guys, this is SD," Stephen's voice sounded in their ears "We got two Eclipse shuttles in coming, BD and BH, you guys better be ready.

"BH, babysit them, would ya?" Brady ordered, indicating to the hostages "I'll cover the door,"

He didn't have to wait long until the first Eclipse mercenary sprinted towards the door. Brady swung out from cover and pinned the trigger of his assault rifle, killing the merc and causing the others to pause in their charge and run for cover. Brady stepped back around the wall just as bullets riddled it, causing him to flinch. Outside, the mercs focused their fire on the door, ignoring the random shuttle slowly turning to allow the port side door open. Lloyd laid down in the opening and trained his sights on a salarian squad leader, then waited for Stephen to even out. Suddenly the operative squeezed the trigger and the salarian dropped. Part of the squad turned to fire upon the shuttle, but the prone man was near impossible to hit, and with his vantage point he was able to pick off a few more mercenaries. Brady swung back out and spread his fire between two mercs, killing one and wounding the other.

"LF, we've got another shuttle incoming!" Stephen shouted then spun the vehicle in a 180 degree turn so the operative could get a shot on it. Lloyd peppered the cockpit of the other shuttle and was able to nail the pilot, causing the shuttle to drop, where it exploded on impact with the ground.

"Fuck yeah!" Lloyd shouted, truly enjoying the chaos.

_Inside_

Logan dragged the turian's body along as he and Tali made their way towards the vault. At the security gate Jarlol looked panicked as he watched Logan drop the body at Tali's feet.

"Open the door, now!" Logan shouted to which the salarian shakily complied.

After it had opened Logan strode through where the salarian held up his hands in surrender"Okay, okay, I'm doing what you say, I'm doing wh- agh!" Logan interrupted Jarlol's terrified rambling with the butt of his assault rifle. Behind him Tali slowly dragged the turian's body through and up to the hand scanner. Logan reached down and grabbed the wrist of the unconscious alien, pulling the arm up he pressed the hand to the scanner and waited while the computer authorized it. As it confirmed their entry Logan pulled the body to the side of the door, with Tali taking position on the opposite side. The door opened and inside they heard the click of guns being readied. Logan nodded to the quarian then stepped out, holding the limp turian with a gun in one hand.

"Drop the weapons, or he gets it!" Logan ordered to which the guards glanced at each other "Now!" he shouted and the guards dropped their weapons, Logan then motioned for them to get up against the wall. After the guards were in position he dropped body and walked up behind the kneeling mercs. Two quick swings of his assault rifle knocked out the guards. The human turned around to see Tali stand up from Virius's body, knife in hand with a blue liquid running down it. She wiped the knife on the DNA scanner while Logan held the turian's omni-tool up to its respective scanner. Both took a few seconds to confirm. When the vault opened it revealed a single terminal in the middle of the room.

"What?" Tali questioned "Where's the credit chits we need to carry out in a bag?"

"You've been watching our old movies, haven't you?" Logan asked.

"Only a few that Bra- BD recommended," she admitted.

Logan rolled his eyes with a small grin "Banks use terminals now, to save space," Logan explained as he handed her an omni-tool supplied by Cerberus "Get to hacking, get about two billion,"

_Bank lobby_

Jester kept glancing back at the door, making sure Brady had the door held. Pretty soon he had all but forgotten to keep an eye on the crowd. An elder turian saw Jester's mistake as an opportunity and pushed himself to a kneeling position and readied himself. Jester was taken completely by surprise when he was hit in the midsection and taken to the ground, his sub machine gun skittering across the ground out of reach. Despite his old age, the turian still possessed considerable strength and Jester found himself losing the battle for control of his hand gun. Jester brought his legs up underneath the turian and pushed off, sending the elder staggering back. Too late the human noticed that the turian was in possession of the hand gun. Jester tried scrambling to his feet and go for his SMG as the first two shots took down his shields. He was within inches of his gun when a round pierced his armor at his lower back. Jester cried out in pain and arched his back as three more rounds hit higher up towards his shoulders.

Brady swung around and put his sights on the turian then pinned the trigger, ignoring the terrified screams from the other hostages. The turian's body jerked as the bullets shredded his body before falling dead to the floor, the blue blood spilling from multiple orifices.

"BH is hit!" Brady yelled into the radio.

"Gah!" Jester yelped as he writhed in agony on the ground "He got me, he fucking got me!"

Brady made to go help him when an eclipse merc came barreling through the door, only to be cut down immediately "I need some help out here!" he declared.

Suddenly Logan came sprinting from the back and slid to his knees next to Jester.

"Where's TZ?" Brady asked as he reloaded.

Logan briefly made eye contact with his friend "Finishing up, she'll be out in a minute," just as he finished his sentence the quarian appeared and took up position next to Brady at the door, gunning down a merc that was making a charge.

After applying medi gel, Logan hoisted the injured man to his feet and pulled him towards the door.

"How's it looking out there?" Logan asked.

"We just took out their newest shuttle load of mercs. I don't know how long until the next so I say we go now," Brady replied. Logan nodded, signaled for them to go, and all four dashed out the door and made straight for the alley, careful to not trip over the many bodies.

"Just ditch the dead weight!" Lloyd shouted through the comms.

Logan felt Jester's grip tighten on his shirt "Please don't," he gasped.

Logan ignored the Cerberus operative in his ear and pressed on, turning down the alley. Tali was in the lead with Brady taking up the rear.

"Uh, guys?" came Stephen's voice "Just heard over the radio, we've got C-Sec coming, we gotta move!"

Pretty soon they were on the next street, Stephen maneuvered the craft low enough that Brady was able to hop in and then turn around to assist Jester inside.

"Shuttle!" Lloyd shouted as an eclipse aircraft appeared from around a building. The side door opened and a mercenary appeared holding a rocket launcher. The merc fired and Stephen yanked the controls to avoid certain death. The sudden movement cause Lloyd to stumble out of the craft and land on Logan who was still outside with Tali. Stephen swore as another rocket was fired but was able to avoid it.

"Get outta here, SD," Logan said into the comm "We can make it ourselves,"

Stephen confirmed the order then took off with the Eclipse shuttle right on their tail. The three that were left behind headed towards the alleys on the opposite side where they came from. As they reached the alley a C-SEC squad car went tearing past, not noticing the oddball group.

"What now?" Tali asked.

Lloyd indicated another shuttle bearing down on them "We run," he stated and took off to an open store with the other two hot on his heels. The Cerberus operative was first through the door and he paused to spray bullets into the ceiling "Everybody on the ground!" he shouted amidst the startled screams.

"We're only passing through," Logan warned the crowd "Nobody moves until we're out,"

The trio snaked through the prone figures until they reached a rear exit, reserved for customers. Logan kept his gun trained on the crowd as Lloyd opened the door, then backed out, only turning around when the door shut. As they made their way towards the another open street a C-Sec squad car tore by, sirens blazing, causing the three to drop into cover behind a parked skycar.

"C-Sec and the Eclipse are both going to be looking for us," Lloyd stated as they began moving again "We need to get out of this district as soon as possible,"

"We can't risk SD coming back here," Logan declared "You know anybody here on the Citadel?"

Lloyd nodded "A few fellow Cerberus operatives," he answered "But I can't risk their cover,"

"Shit," Logan declared "Let's get to the docks, maybe we can steal a ride there, change our uniforms,"

"Anything is better than sitting in this alley," Lloyd replied "Let's go,"

The trio carefully made their way across the empty street into another set of alleys. The snaking alleys were suddenly filled with a bustle of yellow. Before they could raise their weapons, the three were surrounded.

"Drop your guns!" a salarian ordered. Logan traded looks with Tali and Lloyd before tossing his handgun down and raised his hands, the other two following suit. A couple of mercs stepped forward and kicked the guns out of their reach. The salarian turned and nodded to someone down another alley. Pretty soon an asari stepped around the corner. She was a light purple with green face markings surrounding her eyes and a single green stripe below her lips.

"Taking something that doesn't belong to you isn't very wise," she snarled "Especially when it belongs to me!" she shouted then stepped up to Logan's face "Do you know who I am?"

"Am I supposed to?" Logan shot back, truthfully he didn't know.

The asari growled then signaled to a human and he swung his assault rifle butt into the gut of Logan, causing him to drop to his knees in a coughing fit. The asari then looked to Lloyd "How about you?" she asked.

"I think so," he nodded.

"Then explain to your friend," she snarled indicating the floored human.

Lloyd looked between the two and swallowed "This is Selya T'naor, one of Jona Sederis' personal Lieutenants and one of Aria's lovers," the Cerberus operative explained "She has a death sentence on twelve systems and... maybe just a rumor, but she finds pleasure in castrating males before killing them,"

"Not a rumor," Selya smirked "Now, quarian, hand over the omni tool," Tali quickly obeyed, practically tossing the tool into the asari's hand "Thank you, sweetie," Selya declared in a falsetto voice then put her handgun to Tali's head.

"No!" Logan shouted as he jumped to his feet but was knocked back down by a biotic throw from the salarian.

Selya grinned sadistically "Oh, did I hit a nerve?" she asked sweetly "Did I threaten the girlfriend?" Logan didn't answer but instead glared daggers at the asari "You humans make it too easy," she laughed then looked thoughtfully at Tali "Quarian, take off your helmet,"

Tali twitched and looked to Logan, then back at the asari, her body beginning to quake.

"I said take off your helmet!" Selya screamed "Or I'll cut your boyfriend's balls off and make you wear them as a trinket!"

Tali slowly began to comply "Tali, don't!" Logan shouted, momentarily forgetting protocol.

"Tali? What a pretty name," the asari teased "Do as I say, or you'll never hear him say your name again,"

"Ma'am?" the salarian interrupted "I don't think that's one of ours," he declared, pointing to a quickly descending truck.

Logan, from his kneeling position, pushed off and slammed into Tali causing her to fly into Lloyd just as the shuttle slammed into the ground and slid across the floor, and across a few eclipse mercs, coming to a stop where they stood a second ago.

Logan yanked Tali to her a feet and pushed her towards the grounded vehicle "Get in!" he shouted and the three dashed by the floored asari, diving into the truck. They shut the door in the nick of time as bullets riddled it while the truck ascended.

"I'm beginning to think you've lost your touch," a gruff voice came from the cockpit and a familiar batarian face peeked around the corner.

Logan laughed, his adrenaline in full effect "Sagath, you brilliant batarian bastard!" he shouted.

"Dox and Daniels contacted me after they left you behind," he explained "I figured this old man needed to show you how it's done,"

"Yeah, it got fucked pretty fast," Logan stated "Jester got hit and we lost the damn money,"

Tali raised her hand "Actually we didn't," she stated as she held up an omni-tool "I gave her mine,"

Lloyd began laughing "You're alright, for a quarian," he stated as he took the omni-tool "I'll go ahead and contact my boss,"

_Zathdex 1 hour later_

"Lloyd's dropping the omni-tool off and Sagath is disposing of our vehicles," Logan explained "So now we need to just lay low,"

"What about Jester?" Brady asked.

Logan sighed "For now he's alright," he explained "But he needs proper medical attention and a safe place to hide,"

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked.

"He told me.." Logan began then lowered his voice "He told me he wants to quit Cerberus and I think we all know how Cerberus will take that,"

"Does Lloyd know?" Brady asked

Logan shook his head "Doubt it," he answered "But knowing how low his opinion of Jester is, I think I know how he'll react. I'd rather that not happen,"

They all fell silent for a moment to think, then Tali spoke up "He could come with me to the fleet," she offered.

"Would the your people allow that?" Brady asked.

"The fleet won't turn down someone in need, especially if they're with me," she explained "Also, neither Cerberus or Eclipse would dare attack,"

"If you think that's best then that's what we'll do," Logan stated "But to be safe let's wait a few days for everything to calm down," the human suddenly pulled a crate of various liquors up from beneath the table "Now let's fucking party!"

The room filled with a roar of jubilation as the drinks were quickly distributed.

Logan was on his fourth drink and chatting with Stephen when an arm suddenly got thrown around his neck and a shot shoved into his hand.

Brady laughed, loudly, into Logan's ear "Well, fellas, thass anodder one for that books," he slurred.

"Fuck yeah!" Logan shouted as they cheered each other then tossed the shots back "Jager? Really?" Logan declared with a disgusted look on his face, much to the amusement of his friends.

All three flopped onto a couch, Tali soon joining them by sitting on Brady's knee.

Stephen sighed happily "You know, I know we said we were done with this shit, but god damn it felt good to pull one more score!" he declared.

"Haha, fuck yeah!" Logan agreed "This little devil more than pulled her weight," he said indicating Tali "I think we may have a hustler on our hands,"

Brady violently raised his bottle of beer, nearly drenching the quarian "Here's to popping Tali's bank robbing cherry," he declared to which Logan and Stephen whooped and joined him in a drink, Tali put a palm to her helmet while blushing furiously underneath.

_Citadel docks 2 days later_

Logan, Brady, and Tali stood outside of a shuttle, which contained a sleeping Jester.

"Thanks for your help, Tali," Logan declared as he gave the quarian a hug "I didn't want to drag you into our life style, but we couldn't have done this without you,"

"Happy to help a friend, even if it puts me on a wanted list," Tali stated.

"Sagath is a master at keeping C-Sec off our trail, so I would be surprised if this came back to you," Logan answered then stepped to the side to allow Brady his time with her.

"Logan!" the human heard a voice call as he stared off into space, literally, while waiting for Tali and Brady to finish their goodbyes, and turned to the source.

"Mr. Fallows," Logan said as greeting "What are you doing here?"

"I'm heading back to base tomorrow, didn't think I'd catch you before then," the Cerberus operative explained "Just wanted to let you know that you and your crew's cut will be transferred to your accounts by next week,"

Logan nodded, then sighed as he extended his hand "Thanks for your help,"

Lloyd smiled as he shook hands "Thanks for the opportunity, it was fun," he declared then suddenly pulled Lerman close "Watch your back, Eclipse won't stop at anything to get you back, Selya is a bloodthirsty bitch,"

Logan smiled "Thanks, but I think we can handle ourselves," he stated "We were good enough for Shepard after all,"

Brady and Tali had finally concluded their goodbyes, and reluctantly broke from their long hug, when Brady noticed something on Tali's suit "You got red on you," he stated and as he went to touch it the red mark moved to the top of his hand. His eyes went wide with realization and he lurched forward in front of Tali just as a shot rang out. Logan and Lloyd instinctively dropped and pulled out weapons, the former freezing as he saw his best friend fall on his face, blood pooling under him. Tali screamed in horror and tried to roll Brady over to his back. Lloyd shouted something but Logan barely heard him as time seemed to slow down. His mind hardly registered the Cerberus operative firing his handgun at the roof of a nearby building before taking off in its direction. Logan slowly crawled over to Tali, who was cradling Brady's form in her arms, shrieking something into the man's face. When he reached them he saw his friend gurgling as struggled to breath, then suddenly go still, his eyes staring past them into the sky.


End file.
